Review by Neil Pepper
Well it’s yet another Tamiya masterpiece in 1:48th scale and as usual it seems to take longer to clean up the parts than it does to put the kit together. My intention as with most of my 1:48 scale armour projects is to really focus on the painting and weathering, mainly because the build is so straightforward. My hope is that you’ll find this more interesting rather than some repetitive construction work that you will quickly complete, even if you’re a novice armour modeller.
Starting with the cast metal chassis I added the wheels and tracks which fit spot on, how good is that, but completely predictable given this manufacturer.
The hull, top and turret go together as well as the chassis and one thing I noticed is the subtle cast texture to the surface of the chassis – very impressive. The moulded detail is fine and precise and this should take the weathering I have planned later on very well – plenty of washes and other weathering to come here. The ‘rubber’ on the road wheels needs minimal cleaning up and these used to get damaged in service and so you can add some cuts and abrasions to these if you wish.
I cleaned up the kit gun barrel and it looks fine to use, rather than seek out a replacement.
So it’s not long before it’s built and ready for paint.
On to the painting…